The reserve list specifies different types of coal and includes countries with at least 0.1% share of the estimated world's proven reserves of coal. All data are taken from the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) via BP; all numbers are in million tonnes. [1] However BP no longer publishes coal reserves and the Energy Institute did not update the figures in 2023. [2]
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements; chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. [3]
As a fossil fuel burned for heat, coal supplies about a quarter of the world's primary energy and two-fifths of its electricity. [4]
The largest consumer and importer of coal is China. China mines almost half the world's coal, followed by India with about a tenth. Australia accounts for about a third of world coal exports, followed by Indonesia and Russia. [5]
Coal is largely held in the Earth in areas that it needs to be mined from, and is generally present in coal seams.
Unlike "resources", which is the amount that could technically be extracted, according to BP "total proved reserves of coal" is "generally taken to be those quantities that geological and engineering information indicates with reasonable certainty can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions". [1] Thus, like oil reserves, coal reserves can vary with coal and carbon prices. There are various definitions of "reserve". [6]
Unlike the internationally traded commodities hard or soft coal, lignite is not traded far from the place where it is mined because of its low value relative to transport costs, so it does not have a national price. [7] For example lignite costs within India vary greatly. [8]
| Country | Anthracite & bituminous | Subbituminous & lignite | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonnes (mil) | % | Tonnes (mil) | % | Tonnes (mil) | % | |
 United States | 220,167 | 30% | 30,052 | 9.4% | 250,219 | 24% |
 Russia | 69,634 | 9.5% | 90,730 | 28.4% | 160,364 | 15% |
 Australia | 70,927 | 9.7% | 76,508 | 23.9% | 147,435 | 14% |
 China | 130,851 | 17.8% | 7,968 | 2.5% | 138,819 | 13% |
 India | 96,468 | 13.1% | 4,895 | 1.5% | 101,363 | 10% |
 Indonesia | 26,122 | 3.6% | 10,878 | 3.4% | 37,000 | 4% |
 Germany | 3 | 0% | 36,100 | 11.3% | 36,103 | 3% |
 Ukraine | 32,039 | 4.4% | 2,336 | 0.7% | 34,375 | 3% |
 Poland | 20,542 | 2.8% | 5,937 | 1.9% | 26,479 | 3% |
 Kazakhstan | 25,605 | 3.5% | 0 | 0% | 25,605 | 2% |
 Turkey | 551 | 0.1% | 10,975 | 3.4% | 11,526 | 1% |
 South Africa | 9,893 | 1.3% | 0 | 0% | 9,893 | 1% |
 New Zealand | 825 | 0.1% | 6,750 | 2.1% | 7,575 | 1% |
 Serbia | 402 | 0.1% | 7,112 | 2.2% | 7,514 | 1% |
 Brazil | 1,547 | 0.2% | 5,049 | 1.6% | 6,596 | 1% |
 Canada | 4,346 | 0.6% | 2,236 | 0.7% | 6,582 | 1% |
 Colombia | 4,881 | 0.7% | 0 | 0% | 4,881 | 0% |
 Pakistan | 207 | 0% | 2,857 | 0.9% | 3,064 | 0% |
 Vietnam | 3,116 | 0.4% | 244 | 0.1% | 3,360 | 0% |
 Hungary | 276 | 0% | 2,633 | 0.8% | 2,909 | 0% |
 Greece | 0 | 0% | 2,876 | 0.9% | 2,876 | 0% |
 Czech Republic | 110 | 0% | 2,547 | 0.8% | 2,657 | 0% |
 Mongolia | 1,170 | 0.2% | 1,350 | 0.4% | 2,520 | 0% |
 Bulgaria | 192 | 0% | 2,174 | 0.7% | 2,366 | 0% |
 Uzbekistan | 1,375 | 0.2% | 0 | 0% | 1,375 | 0% |
 Mexico | 1,160 | 0.2% | 51 | 0% | 1,211 | 0% |
 Spain | 868 | 0.1% | 319 | 0.1% | 1,187 | 0% |
 Thailand | 0 | 0% | 1,063 | 0.3% | 1,063 | 0% |
 Venezuela | 731 | 0.1% | 0 | 0% | 731 | 0% |
| World | 734,903 | 100% | 319,879 | 100% | 1,054,782 | 100% |
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is a type of fossil fuel, formed when dead plant matter decays into peat which is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years. Vast deposits of coal originate in former wetlands called coal forests that covered much of the Earth's tropical land areas during the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and Permian times.
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat content. When removed from the ground, it contains a very high amount of moisture, which partially explains its low carbon content. Lignite is mined all around the world and is used almost exclusively as a fuel for steam-electric power generation.
Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It is typically hard but friable. Its quality is ranked higher than lignite and sub-bituminous coal, but lesser than anthracite. It is the most abundant rank of coal, with deposits found around the world, often in rocks of Carboniferous age. Bituminous coal is formed from sub-bituminous coal that is buried deeply enough to be heated to 85 °C (185 °F) or higher.
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United Kingdom and South Africa, a coal mine and its structures are a colliery, a coal mine is called a "pit", and above-ground mining structures are referred to as a "pit head". In Australia, "colliery" generally refers to an underground coal mine.
Coalbed methane, coalbed gas, or coal seam gas (CSG) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries.
Peak oil is the theorized point in time when the maximum rate of global oil production will occur, after which oil production will begin an irreversible decline. The primary concern of peak oil is that global transportation heavily relies upon the use of gasoline and diesel fuel. Switching transportation to electric vehicles, biofuels, or more fuel-efficient forms of travel may help reduce oil demand.
Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an industrial process which converts coal into product gas. UCG is an in-situ gasification process, carried out in non-mined coal seams using injection of oxidants and steam. The product gas is brought to the surface through production wells drilled from the surface.
Energy in the United States is obtained from a diverse portfolio of sources, although the majority came from fossil fuels in 2021, as 36% of the nation's energy originated from petroleum, 32% from natural gas, and 11% from coal. Electricity from nuclear power supplied 8% and renewable energy supplied 12%, which includes biomass, wind, hydro, solar and geothermal.
World energy resources are the estimated maximum capacity for energy production given all available resources on Earth. They can be divided by type into fossil fuel, nuclear fuel and renewable resources.
Iran possesses significant energy reserves, holding the position of the world's third-largest in proved oil reserves and the second-largest in natural gas reserves as of 2021. At the conclusion of the same year, Iran's share comprised 24% of the oil reserves in the Middle East and 12% of the worldwide total.
Coal mining regions are significant resource extraction industries in many parts of the world. They provide a large amount of the fossil fuel energy in the world economy.
According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), Pakistan may have over 9 billion barrels (1.4×109 cubic metres) of petroleum oil and 105 trillion cubic feet (3.0 trillion cubic metres) in natural gas (including shale gas) reserves.
Coal in India has been mined since 1774, and India is the second largest producer and consumer of coal after China, mining 777.31 million metric tons in FY 2022. Around 30% of coal is imported. Due to demand, supply mismatch and poor quality with high ash content, India imports coking coal to meet the shortage of domestic supply. Dhanbad, the largest coal producing city, has been called the coal capital of India. State-owned Coal India had a monopoly on coal mining between its nationalisation in 1973 and 2018.
Energy in Australia is the production in Australia of energy and electricity, for consumption or export. Energy policy of Australia describes the politics of Australia as it relates to energy.
Different methods of electricity generation can incur a variety of different costs, which can be divided into three general categories: 1) wholesale costs, or all costs paid by utilities associated with acquiring and distributing electricity to consumers, 2) retail costs paid by consumers, and 3) external costs, or externalities, imposed on society.
In 2019, the total energy production in Indonesia is 450.79 tonnes of oil equivalent, with a total primary energy supply of 231.14 tonnes of oil equivalent and electricity final consumption of 263.32 terawatt-hours. From 2000 to 2021, Indonesia's total energy supply increased by nearly 60%.
Coal supplies a quarter of Turkey's primary energy. The heavily subsidised coal industry generates over a third of the country's electricity and emits a third of Turkey's greenhouse gases.
Afşin-Elbistan C was a planned 1800-MW coal-fired power station which was proposed to be built in Turkey by the state-owned mining company Maden Holding. Estimated to cost over 17 billion lira, at planned capacity it would have generated about 3% of the nation's electricity. According to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) the plant would have burned 23 million tonnes of lignite annually, and emit over 61 million tonnes of CO2 each year for 35 years.
Coal reserves …. Please note that these reserves tables have not been updated this year.